Since the very first continuous casting and rolling system as described in German patent 52,002, many different designs of such casting and rolling systems have been developed. What these developments have in common is that so far they have been successful only for low-alloy steel, when the casting system produces a so-called thin slab at least 50 mm thick (German patent 3712537), which is then fed to the first roller or cast as strips in the case of stainless steel as described in European patents 0458987 and 0481481.